There is an ever-growing need for Medicaid-funded rooms among the Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing communities in the Douglas and Sarpy County area and that is very concerning. Since HELP offers free assistance to pair communities with folks, our expert, Daniel Haynes needed to identify more rooms for potential clients. He ventured forth into Dodge County and concentrated his efforts in Fremont. Dan toured several fine communities, met great staff members and saw some very happy and engaged residents, only 20 minutes away from West Omaha! Dan also learned some rather disappointing truths about the Medicaid room situation in Nebraska.
“I discovered that a skilled nursing community in Fremont was closing and all of its residents (most of them Medicaid recipients) were being relocated to other homes around the state” Dan said. So he headed up to Hooper, hopeful that he would find some available Medicaid rooms at the care center there. Although they were at capacity, he did find a beautiful and serene community with happy residents and friendly dedicated staff. After talking with the social service director Dan discovered that there are other communities closing in North Bend, Crete, and West Point. That will displace close to 200 residents the majority of who depend on Medicaid to pay for their care. This comes on the heels of six other communities closing in Norfolk, Broken Bow, Grand Island, Schuyler, Sidney, and Cambridge in 2018.
“I did encounter one community in Fremont, Pathfinder Place that had an interesting solution to this problem: Roommates. They had rooms in their community where two people could share a room and while not grandiose they were also not modest either. They were comfortable rooms. The residents didn’t appear to spend much time in their rooms as they were all engaged in activities or out and about away from the building. I love to see a community that promotes and active lifestyle for the residents” continued Dan.
As communities continue to close and Medicaid reimbursement continues to drop it might be time to start looking at other options to stay (or help your loved one stay) independent at home. Finding a senior roommate may be the answer and using a service like seniorhomeshares.com could be a viable solution. We at HELP can navigate through some options for independence or help you find some resources to maintain independence. Stop on by, visit with Dan and lets get to work!